Dillon International is now officially accredited or approved by the Council on Accreditation and Secretary of State of the United States to serve families adopting from other countries that are party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children.  It is expected that the Hague will officially take effect April 1, 2008 although families who file their I600A prior to this date will be processed under the laws in effect prior to the Hague Convention.  During 2007, Dillon International participated in the rigorous accreditation process to be among the first adoption agencies accredited in the U.S. under the Hague Convention.  Our accrediting entity was the Council on Accreditation.  On February 29, 2008, Dillon was notified of its accreditation status along with all other international adoption agencies.
 

The Hague Convention is an agreement designed to govern the adoption process and protect children being adopted across national boundaries.  More than 60 countries have ratified the convention and the U.S. plans ratify and implement the treaty here by the end of 2007 or early 2008. 
(See the list of countries at
http://travel.state.gov/family/abduction/hague_issues/hague_issues_1487.html)

The basic premises that all countries who ratify the treaty agree to are: 

• Every child has the right to a permanent family, even when that family is in another country.

• Adoption of children between countries should take place via agreed-upon procedures that are ethical and orderly.

1.  Hague regulations will only govern adoptions done between two Hague countries.  Adoptions will continue normally from non-Hague countries. 

2.  Adoption agencies and service providers will be required to pass a rigorous accreditation process. 

3.  Adopters will have access to a national database of verified complaints about adoption agencies/providers. 

4.  Sending countries will agree to maintain child background information in the country.

Three of the countries in which Dillon serves families and children are already Hague countries: China, India and Guatemala.  Families who are adopting through or considering adoption through these countries (or any others listed on the U.S. Department of State's website referenced above) are encouraged to ensure that the placing agency they choose plans to pursue accreditation.  Families are also encouraged to ensure that the home study provider they would like to work with will be accredited, approved or work as a supervised provider under an accredited agency.  If you are researching adoption agencies, you will need to ask these questions! 
 

Hague Updates

February 29, 2008 - It is official!  Dillon International is among the first agencies to receive notification of Hague Accreditation approval.  Dillon International is now officially accredited or approved by the Council on Accreditation and Secretary of State of the United States to serve families adopting from other countries that are party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children.  It is expected that the Hague will officially take effect April 1, 2008 although families who file their I600A prior to this date will be processed under the laws in effect prior to the Hague Convention.

January 31, 2008 - Department of State Announcement: Uniform Notification Date (UND) Set for February 29, 2008  The Department of State has set February 29, 2008 as the Uniform Notification Date (UND) of applicants granted accreditation or approval to provide services in Hague Convention adoptions.  On that date, the adoption service providers who applied for accreditation or approval through either the Council on Accreditation (COA) or the Colorado Department of Human Services (CO) will be notified whether their application has been granted, denied, or remains pending.  In addition, a list of accredited, temporarily accredited, and approved providers will be posted on the Department of State website, www.Travel.State.Gov, in the Children and Families section. 

Please note that only those adoption service providers who have been accredited, temporarily accredited, or approved by either COA or CO will be able to provide adoption services for Hague adoption cases after the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption enters into force for the United States on April 1, 2008.  Adoption service providers who have not been accredited or approved by the UND may still be added to the list on the Department of State website on a rolling basis if they are subsequently accredited or approved. 

Information on intercountry adoption under the Hague Convention and which cases will be affected by the new Hague rules is available in the Children and Families / Intercountry Adoption section of the Department of State website at www.Travel.State.Gov.

December 12, 2007 - On November 16, 2007, President Bush signed the final instruments for ratification of the Hague Convention.  As a result, the Department of State submitted those instruments today to the Hague Convention.  The United States of America will officially become a Hague Convention member on April 1, 2008.  International adoption agencies who have been preparing for accreditation will all be notified sometime in February or early March of 2008 of their accreditation status.

August 27, 2007 - Dillon's site visit with the COA reviewers, held August 19 -21, 2007, went well!  The evaluators spent three days reviewing Dillon's files and interviewing staff, board and adoptive families.  Dillon should receive a letter within 30-45 days notifying us whether COA needs any further information to complete our accreditation.  All agencies, including Dillon, will learn of their final accreditation approval at the same time on the "Uniform Notification Date" sometime after February 15, 2008. 
 
July 13, 2007 - Dillon has completed its self-study and submitted the documentation to COA for review prior to our scheduled site visit on August 20, 2007.

May 8, 2007 - Dillon's site review has been scheduled for late August.

March 27, 2007 - Dillon has received its self-study documents and has begun work on preparing the documentation for accreditation.

January 11, 2007 - Dillon's initial application for Hague accreditation has been approved by the Council on Accreditation (COA). Now we are waiting to receive the self-study manual which will contain the materials for use in preparing our documentation for the next step in the accreditation process.  

November 3, 2006 - Dillon International submitted its application for Hague Accreditation to the Council on Accreditation.

October 6, 2006 - The application period will be from October 9, 2006 to November 17, 2006.  Dillon International will apply during this first round.

October 4, 2006 - The State Department has completed negotiations with the accrediting entities regarding fees and compliance systems.  The first application period will begin soon!
 

Information above is taken in part from "The Hague Convention: In Treaty We Trust" a very informative article for adoptive parents found in the July/August 2006 issue of Adoptive Families Magazine. 

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Additional reading about the Hague Convention: "Rules Set to Change on Foreign Adoption"